Expanding earth anchor



Jan. 14, 1930. J. BLACKBURN EXPANDING EARTH ANCHOR Filed June 7, 1

Patented Jan. 14, 1930 PATENT OFFICE JASPER BLACKBURN, OF WEBSTER GROVES, MISSOURI EXPANDING EARTH ANCHOR Application filed June 7, 1928. Serial No. 283,470.

My invention relates to improvements in expanding earth anchors, and has for its primary object an earth anchor which is provided with extensible plates or flulres, which can be driven outward simultaneously so as to extend beyond the body portion of the anchor and into the solid earth surrounding the anchor.

A further object is to construct an earth anchor having flukes 0r plates which will be expanded laterally by means of a cone, the cone being adapted to be forced downward for expanding the plates by blows of atamping implement.

A still further object is to construct an expanding earth anchor in such a manner that the anchor rod may be removed therefrom when desired so as to leave no projection above the earth and without the necessity of 2c removing the entire anchor.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan View of my anchor with part of one of the flukes or expansible plates broken away showing the slot which guides the flukes or plates;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1 with the expanding cone in position;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of my device with the flukes or plates expanded;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmental section taken on the line l4 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of my device when fully expanded.

In the construction of my device I employ a plate 6, which is provided on its underneath surface with a plurality of radially extending projections 7 These projections are made hollow as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 5,

the purpose of which will be explained in detail later. The plate 6 is also provided with slots 8, which communicate with the interior of the hollow projections 7 although these slots do not extend to the outer edge of the plate but are so arranged as to leave a portion 4 9 closing the outer end of the slot. The inner end of the slot is enlarged as indicated by the numeral 10 so as to receive the head 11 of a lug carried by the expanding plates or flukes 12. These lugs are formed on the under face of the expanding plates or flukes and have a reduced portion 13 which fits within the slot 8. In this manner the flukes or plates 12 are held against vertical displacement but may be moved outward radially.

The flukes or plates 12 are also provlded with an Lip-raised portion 14, which fits over the portion 15 of an adjacent fluke or plate so that these plates can be fully collapsed and when in collapsed position will occupy no greater area than the plate 6.

The plates or fiukes 12 are also provided with upwardly projecting wedge-shaped portions 16 which have their inner edges 17 inclining inwardly and downwardly. The innor edges or faces 17 of the projection 16 are designed to be contacted with by the conical member 18 so that when this member is driven downward it will have a tendency to force the flukes or plates 12 outward radially and simultaneously. 7

The conical member 18 is loosely and slidably mounted on the anchor rod'19, which is provided on its upper end with an'eye 20 through which a guy wire or strand can be secured.

In order to further strengthen the plate 6 I make use of ribs 21 which are formed integral with the plate and extend between the projections 7 The anchor rod 19 is screw threaded at its lower end as indicated by the numeral 22 so as to receive the nut 23. The nut 28, however, is prevented from turning by means of a projection 24 formed integral with the bottom of the plate 6.

The conical member l8 is preferably pro- 35 vided with radially extending ribs 25 so that the member may be made hollow but still have sufiicient rigidity thereby saving considerable in the amount of material used without sacrificing any strength. 0

Both the conical member and the plate 6 maybe further lightened by forming openings therein at suitable points, these open ings, however, being so positioned that while saving weight of material, do not in any way reduce or affect the strength of the anchor.

From my construction it will be readily seen that the various fiukes or expansion plates can be placed in position on the plate 6, then the anchor rod 19 secured in position by means of the nut. 22, after which the conical member 18 can be dropped over the anchor rod rior to securing the eye 20 on its upper end.

After the device has been thus assembled, the anchor is ready to be placed in position.

The first step necessary, of course, is to the'conical member is driven downward. As

this member 18 is driven downward it must necessarily ride on the inclined faces or edges 17 of the wedged projections 16 and, inasmuch asthey are formed integral with 6' the expanding plates, such driving down of the conical member 18 will result in forcing the plates or flukes 12 away from the center, this forcing down done simultaneously so that all flukes or lates will move outward radially and in a plane parallel to the plate 6simultaneously. This driving or forcing out of the plates or flukes 12 cause them to become imbedded'in the undisturbed ground around the bored hole in which the plate is inserted and this entering into the solid ground of the flukes 12 is further enhanced b sharpening the edges of the flukes as indlcated by the numeral 26.

My resent anchor is an improvement on Patent No. 1,407,920, ranted to me on February 28th, 1922 an although similanin construction, differs essentially in details, especially in view of the fact that in my present construction all of the expanding flukes or plates are forced out simultaneously and naturally to the same extent whereas in the patent aforementioned it was necessary to force out each plate independently; consequently there was always a possibility of one plate being forced out farther than the others from the center of the anchor thereby setting up uneven strains in the supporting plate, but with my present structure this is i 1 obviated because all upward strain will be evenly distributed. s

Having fully described my invention, what I claim is V I 1. An expanding earth anchor comprising a plate, a plurality of flukes having integral upstanding inclined projections carried by said plate, said flukes arranged for horizontal radial outward movement, an anchor rod carried by said plate, and a conical member slidably mounted on said anchor rod, said member adapted to be driven downward by an implement and contact with said projections for moving said flukes outward simultaneously.

2. An expanding earth anchor comprising a circular plate, radially extending guideways formed in said plate, flukes having wedge-shaped upstanding portions mounted on said plate, means carried by the underside of said flukes and extending into said passageways for preventing the accidental separation of said flukes and plate, an anchor rod extending upwardly from said plate and surrounded by said flukes, a conical member slidably mounted on said anchor rod, said conical member adapted to simultaneously spread said flukes outward horizontally from the center of the plate when said conical member is forced down. 7

3. An expanding earth anchor comprising 'a-plate reinforced on its underside, a plurality of overlapping flukes haying integral upstanding inclined projections carried by said plate, said flukes arranged forradial outward movement, an anchor rod carried by said plate, and a conical memberslidably mounted on said anchor 'rod, said member adapted to be driven downward by an implement and contact with said projections for moving said flukes outward simultaneously and in a horizontal direction.

4. An expanding earth anchor comprising a plate reinforced on its underside, radially extending guideways formed in said plate, overlapping flukes having wedge-shaped upstanding portions mounted on said plate,

means carried by the underside of said flukes and extending into said passageways for preventing the accidental separation of said flukes and plate, an anchor rod extendingupwardly from said plate and surrounded by said flukes, a conical member slidably mounted on said anchor rod, said conical member adapted to spread said flukes outward from the center of the plate simultaneously and parallel thereto when said conical member is forced down.

5. An expanding earth anchor comprising a plate, a plurality of flukes having upstanding projections carried by said plate, said flukes arranged for radial outward movement, an anchor rod carried by said plate, and a member havingra downwardlyand in wardly inclined edge slidably mounted on said anchor rod, said member adapted to be signature. 7

JASPER BLACKBURN. 

